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Origin and history of controversy

controversy(n.)

"disputation, debate, prolonged agitation of contrary opinions," late 14c., from Old French controversie "quarrel, disagreement" or directly from Latin controversia "a turning against; contention, quarrel, dispute," from controversus "turned in an opposite direction, disputed, turned against," from contra "against" (see contra (prep., adv.)) + versus "turned toward or against," past participle of vertere "to turn" (from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend").

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to controversy

contra(prep., adv.)

"against, over against, opposite, on the opposite side; on the contrary, contrariwise," mid-14c., from Latin contra (prep. and adv.) "against," originally "in comparison with," ablative singular feminine of *com-teros, from Old Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + -tr, zero-degree form of the comparative suffix -ter-.

controversary(adj.)

"pertaining to controversy, disputatious," c. 1600, from stem of Latin controversus "turned against" (see controversy) + -ary.

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contention
late 14c., contencioun, "strife, dissension, quarreling," from Old French contencion and directly from Latin contentionem (nominative contentio) "a vigorous struggling, a contest, a fight," noun of action from past-participle stem of contendere (see contend). Meaning "a violent e
disputation
late 14c., disputacioun, "formal debate or discussion before an audience or official body regarding the truth of something," from Old French desputasion and directly from Latin disputationem (nominative disputatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of disputare "weigh, ex
tilt
Old English *tyltan "to be unsteady," from tealt "unsteady," from Proto-Germanic *taltaz (source also of Old Norse tyllast "to trip," Swedish tulta "to waddle," Norwegian tylta "to walk on tip-toe," Middle Dutch touteren "to swing"). Meaning "to cause to lean, tip, slope" (1590s)
decide
late 14c., "to settle a dispute, determine a controversy," from Old French decider, from Latin decidere "to decide, determine...
difference
Sense of "controversy, dispute, a quarrel" is from late 14c....
cause
The sense of "matter of interest or concern; a side taken in controversy" is from c. 1300....
regency
attested from 1880 (there is an unexplained use in Jane Austen from 1793; OED says it "may possibly reflect the public controversy...
dispute
c. 1300, "engage in argumentation or discussion," from Old French desputer (12c.) "dispute, fight over, contend for, discuss" and directly from Latin disputare "weigh, examine, discuss, argue, explain," from dis- "separately, apart" (see dis-) + putare "to count, consider," origi
fight
Old English feohtan "to combat, contend with weapons, strive; attack; gain by fighting, win" (intransitive; class III strong verb; past tense feaht, past participle fohten), from Proto-Germanic *fe(u)hta (source also of Old High German fehtan, German fechten, Middle Dutch and Dut
reformist
1580s, originally religious, "a Protestant;" from reform + -ist. Political sense of "one who proposes or favors reform to the order of society," with varying specifics, is from 1640s. Related: Reformism (1904), which was specifically the theory that socialism might be established

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